Tag Archives: diesel

Alfa Romeo, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo

2001 Alfa Romeo 166

We've been flooding the readers with Alfa Romeo sedans lately, so we'll let the flood continue with this flood / water damage title 2001 Alfa Romeo 166. When Alfa Romeo departed the US market, US customers were due for a successor to the 1991-1995 Alfa Romeo 164. Had things turned out differently, this is what we would have received.

When it comes to Alfa sedans, we like to think of the Milano as essentially a 1970s car with a lot of plastic attached to it to pass for an 80s car. Take a look underneath a Milano, and you can see that the component assemblies were not very well-integrated. If you take a look underneath a 164, you'll see an increase in complexity and a number of improvements in the name of reducing variation between vehicles. Looking at the 166, we see the current age of automotive assembly - most of the fluid and electrical connectors, the minor clips and the formed routings all look like they could be from a car today.

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Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina

1995 Alfa Romeo 164 Super 2.5L Turbodiesel

We've always found diesel engines to be a great way to desecrate the Alfa Romeo experience. Take away the music, the power, and the high-strung tension of moving the needle up to redline, and you've subdued the spirit of an Alfa.

But, a 164 is not a typical Alfa in the way that it moves down the road. It has a large footprint, a considerable curb weight, and FWD, for one thing. And though the 164 screams with the 24V Busso, it does have a Germanic heftiness to it - a solid feeling that would benefit from the drama-free torque of a diesel powertrain. We think the 164 driver would especially enjoy the diesel on the autobahn, where low engine speed at high vehicle speeds makes for a calmer experience.

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Alfa Romeo, Modern Classic

1985 Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 TD

1 Comment

One of the things that both the Italians and French are good at, besides making love, cooking and fine wine is manufacturing desirable small cars. When tasked with designing and selling executive-sized sedans, this is where both countries come up short. As interesting as their offerings have been at times, they never really took off, with exception of the Citroën DS. One very forgotten executive sedan from Alfa Romeo is the 6. These were not huge sellers, with only a shade over 12,000 produced from 1979 to 1986. As a result, examples which survive to this day are in extremely rare company.

They were well equipped cars, however, featuring rear-wheel drive, with power steering, power windows, electric mirrors and central locking, along with a limited slip differential as standard. Minor styling tweaks came along for 1983, along with this car’s engine, the 2.5 liter VM 5 cylinder turbodiesel. This particular 6 that is for sale in Spain has the five cylinder turbo diesel engine which was related to the diesel engine that Jeep offered in their Cherokee for certain overseas markets. This 2.5 liter, overhead valve engine pumped out 103 horsepower and produced a respectable 177 lb ft. of torque. It's not the optimal choice for enthusiasts, but with cars these rare, beggars can't be choosers.

1985 Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 TD

Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 TD, fabulous limited edition! Brand new car that belongs to a private collection. Always garaged. Sold only by lack of space.

At €8,000 (~ $10,500 USD), this is not a cheap '80s Alfa. I’m not sure if I would be the type of person to pay for such nostalgia and one must consider that parts must be awfully difficult to source for a vehicle built in such small numbers with a near non-existent following. The diesel engine does add a bit of durability into the package and hopefully this car can find a good home where it can be preserved as one of the last of its kind.

-Paul